Many resources have been invested into developing a reliable scheme for verification of an individual's identity in order to prevent fraud in the world of e-commerce. The single most common reason consumers cite for not carrying out purchases online is fear of credit card fraud. Similarly, the information revolution has created such an incredible ease of access to personal data, that the need for information security and for selective access permissions is acute. The industry buzzwords directed at the consumer are “anytime, anywhere,” but not “anyone.”
Methods that rely on something the user possesses, such as smart cards, or something that he knows, such as a password or personal information (for example an account number or birthday), are cumbersome and easily bypassed. Moreover, with the vast number of accounts an Internet user is likely to have (e-mail, e-banking, subscription Web sites, etc.), the number of passwords and PIN's he must remember becomes unbearable very quickly. For this reason much energy has been focused on the field of biometrics, or identification based on physiological and/or behavioral characteristics. Example of characteristics used for biometrics includes fingerprint, retina or iris scanning, voice, signature, and face. Biometric characteristics optimally do not change with time, do not require the user to remember anything, and cannot be lost or forgotten.
Finger and palm print scanning have been the subject of a number of previous patents (for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,118,891, 5,708,497, 5,528,355, 4,357,597, 4,206,441, 3,581,282) The use of both fingerprints and palm prints in the prior art has a significant shortcoming in that the data is completely static. In this regard the individual is better off using a credit card number, because if his credit card number is stolen he can get a new credit card; if his fingerprint data is stolen, he can no longer use the system. A similar problem exists in determining whether the print being scanned into the system is coming from a live person and not merely a picture. Methods of the prior art for testing this include heat sensors and pulse detectors, and are easily defeated.
As regards the use of palm prints, a further disadvantage of the prior art is the need for a scanner specially designed for the purpose of scanning the palm (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,355), or positioning and actuating mechanism (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,597). Specially designed scanners intended specifically for scanning of the palm, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,355, were invented to deal with the loss of data due to the convex form of the heel of the palm.
Other methods of scanning the palm according to the prior art also require scanning at high resolutions (600-1200 DPI), necessitating scan times of upwards of one minute, a length of time for which no subject can be reasonably to expected to hold his hand still. Biometric identification according to such methods involves first manually taking the subject's palm print using ink, and then scanning the ink print, such as the method described by D. Zhang and W. Shu (Zhang et. Al, Pattern Recognition. 32:691-702). This method of taking an image of the palm is messy, and requires professional skill to get a print of acceptable quality for identification purposes.
Surprisingly, the present invention overcomes the aforementioned shortcomings, and allows for quick, easy, and secure authentication by means of a scanning unit.